Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Whether the heterogeneity of psychiatric conditions converges on shared neurophysiological alterations or translates into distinct signatures remains unclear. We assembled high-density electroencephalogram (hd-EEG) resting-state recordings from 4,812 individuals aged 5 months to 66 years across 11 psychiatric conditions, a broad spectrum of rare genetic variants, and typically developing (TD) individuals. We established normative developmental trajectories of source-space EEG across spectral organization, connectivity, and signal complexity. Psychiatric conditions showed small deviations, revealing a shared transdiagnostic profile. In contrast, single rare variants showed substantially larger, distinct and sometimes mirror-opposite signatures that collapsed toward the psychiatric profile when pooled. Autism Spectrum Disorder showed some of the smallest group-level effects yet the largest individual deviations, indicating substantial but directionally inconsistent alterations. EEG deviations followed a cortical gradient, with larger effects in sensorimotor regions. We demonstrate that sample sizes in the hundreds are required for robust associations with psychiatric diagnoses. This interactive open resource provides normative scores to benchmark future results.
Authors: Adrien E.E. Dubois, Sarah Lippé, Charles-Olivier Martin, Inga S. Knoth, Valérie K. Fontaine, Anne-Marie Bélanger, Pascale Abadie, Melissa T. Carter, Mélanie Couture, Mayada Elsabbagh, Alan Evans, Carl Ernst, Baudouin Forgeot d’Arc, Ridha Joober, Guy Rouleau, Julie Scorah, Christine Lucas Tardif, Ma’n H. Zawati, Grace C. Westerkamp, Ernest V. Pedapati, Craig A. Erickson, Borja Rodriguez-Herreros, Nadia Chabane, Kenza Latrèche, Marie Schaer, Aline Lefebvre, Richard Delorme, Sara Jane Webb, James C. McPartland, Sébastien Jacquemont, Guillaume Dumas
Institutions: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l'Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, University of Geneva, Université Paris Cité, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Robert-Debré, Institut Pasteur, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Yale University, Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Fondation Brain Canada, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Université de Genève, Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Institut de Valorisation des Données, Alliance de recherche numérique du Canada, Fondation Pôle Autisme, National Institutes of Health, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, National Institute of Mental Health
Awards: G1950769488, Digital Phenotyping of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children, Exploring common mechanisms for social and non-social autism symptoms: a longitudinal study in the Geneva Autism Cohort, NCCR 'SYNAPSY - The synaptic bases of mental diseases', G4321750251, The Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials, G4869032613, G4948279256, Measuring trajectories of cerebral development associated with autism in the first years of life, G7048141691, Measuring trajectories of cerebral development associated with autism in the first years of life, G8008090399, Inter-Brain Synchronization: from Measurements to Mechanisms, Improving inclusion of individuals with intellectual disability in autism neuroscience research
OpenAlex ID: W7211942371